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March 12, 2008
Lay Preaching on Good Friday
Copyright ©2002-2008And More on Masses in Lent ROME, MARCH 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university. Q: Could a layperson, with the diocesan bishop's permission, licitly preach after the Gospel at the Good Friday liturgy, since it is not a Mass? -- C.F., Oakland, California A: Laypeople may preach on certain occasions. The 2004 instruction "Redemptionis Sacramentum," in No. 161, states: "As was already noted above, the homily on account of its importance and its nature is reserved to the Priest or Deacon during Mass. As regards other forms of preaching, if necessity demands it in particular circumstances, or if usefulness suggests it in special cases, lay members of Christ's faithful may be allowed to preach in a church or in an oratory outside Mass in accordance with the norm of law. [The Code of Canon Law, Canon 766] This may be done only on account of a scarcity of sacred ministers in certain places, in order to meet the need, and it may not be transformed from an exceptional measure into an ordinary practice, nor may it be understood as an authentic form of the advancement of the laity. All must remember besides that the faculty for giving such permission belongs to the local Ordinary, and this as regards individual instances; this permission is not the competence of anyone else, even if they are Priests or Deacons." Some canonists argue that "Redemptionis Sacramentum," along with a 1997 instruction regarding the collaboration of the laity with the priestly ministry, is more restrictive regarding lay preaching than the Code of Canon Law. This indeed appears to be the case and was perhaps intentional. Certainly the documents in question were all duly approved by Pope John Paul II, who also promulgated the Code. The prohibition of laypeople delivering the homily is much more stringent, and the Holy See has even gone so far as to state that that the diocesan bishop does not have the authority to permit a layperson to give the homily. The reasons why the bishop cannot give this dispensation were adduced in the above-mentioned 1997 document: "[T]his is not merely a disciplinary law but one which touches upon the closely connected functions of teaching and sanctifying" (Article 3, No. 1). It could be argued that even though the Good Friday celebration is not a Mass, the brief homily foreseen in the rubrics is for all intents and purposes of the same category as the homily during a Eucharistic celebration insofar as it "touches upon the closely connected functions of teaching and sanctifying" in the same way as during the Mass. In this case it is strictly reserved to an ordained minister. Even if we were not before a homily in the same sense as during a Mass, a layperson would not be allowed to preach, since a priest is always present at the Good Friday celebration. And "Redemptionis Sacramentum" clearly states that lay preaching in a church or oratory is allowed "only on account of scarcity of sacred ministers." Thus the requisite conditions for permitting lay preaching are never met during the Good Friday celebration. A priest is almost surely present because the possibility of celebrating the Good Friday service of the Passion with holy Communion is tied intimately with the celebration of the Maundy Thursday Mass the preceding evening. The norms for the Easter celebrations (No. 54) stipulate that the rite of transfer to the altar of repose "may not be carried out if the liturgy of the Lord's Passion will not be celebrated in that same church on the following day." As far as I know, the Holy See has not approved any official rite for celebrating a version of the Easter triduum in the absence of a priest. Even though it does not have to be the same priest who presides at both celebrations, the union of the two celebrations assures that a priest will be available to preside on Good Friday. * * * Follow-up: Masses in Lent After our piece regarding which Masses could be celebrated during Lent (see Feb. 26), a reader asked for clarifications regarding the physical place for celebrating the Easter triduum. He wrote, "I thought I had read, either in canon law or in the General Instruction for the Roman Missal, that Holy Week triduum services can only be celebrated in recognized parishes and not in chapels and/or oratories where there is not a parish. Can you provide me with the Church guidance on this subject: where can Easter triduum services take place?" Our correspondent probably referred to the Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts, published by the Holy See in 1988. No. 43 of this document states: "It is fitting that small religious communities, both clerical and lay, and other lay groups should participate in the celebration of the Easter Triduum in neighboring principal churches. "Similarly, where the number of participants and ministers is so small that the celebrations of the Easter Triduum cannot be carried out with the requisite solemnity, such groups of the faithful should assemble in a larger church. "Also, where there are small parishes with only one priest, it is recommended that such parishes should assemble, as far as possible, in a principal church and participate in the celebration there. "On account of the needs of the faithful, where a pastor has the responsibility for two or more parishes in which the faithful assemble in large numbers, and where the celebration can be carried out with the requisite care and solemnity, the celebrations of the Easter Triduum may be repeated in accord with the given norms." A footnote to the first paragraph clarifies the case of cloistered communities: "In monasteries of nuns, every effort should be made to celebrate the Easter Triduum with the greatest possible ceremony, but within the monastery church." Therefore it is not so much that the triduum is forbidden outside of parish churches, but rather that it is recommended that, insofar as is possible, it not be celebrated in small groups, but in larger gatherings of the faithful. Larger religious communities may celebrate the triduum in their communities, especially in those communities that traditionally accompany Christ during the whole night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Respecting such long-standing custom would be practically impossible without the celebration of the Mass of the Lord's Supper and the consequent reservation in the altar of repose. This allows for public devotions toward Christ in the tabernacle until midnight and private prayer thereafter. * * * Readers may send questions to liturgy@zenit.org. Please put the word "Liturgy" in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive. |